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Saturday 2026-11-14 · time TBA · Jack Trice Stadium
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The units, side by side

CINISUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence9337Offence: points per play — defence3675Offence: success rate — offence8114Offence: success rate — defence3764Offence: explosiveness — offence7582Offence: explosiveness — defence5782Run game — offence9845Run game — defence2678Pass game — offence7644Pass game — defence3363Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence9335Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence1772Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence8621Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence4738

Percentile among the 138 FBS teams on each measure this season, offence and defence, both teams. Raw values, plays behind them and ranks are in the tables below.

What actually happens around a number like this

tiecardsCIN by 39ISU by 41

Each bar is how often a college game lands on that margin, from 7,877 FBS games 2015–2025, centred on our card line. The spread misses by 12.3 points on average (37% within a touchdown). ISU wins about 52% of the time at a number like ours.

CIN

Games4
Plays per game67.5
Drives per game11.8
SP+9.2 (38th, offence 23rd, defence 63rd)
Returning production8% (pass 4%, rush 4%, receiving 15%)

ISU

Games4
Plays per game60.2
Drives per game11.5
SP+3.4 (58th, offence 86th, defence 39th)
Returning production2% (pass 3%, rush 5%, receiving 0%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceCINISU
pass rate, all downs40%122nd41%119th
pass rate, standard downs37%104th35%114th
pass rate, 1st down40%90th31%122nd
no-huddle share68%63rd36%92nd
pass rate, passing downs47%131st53%117th
pass rate, red zone30%107th28%116th
seconds per play (own drives)28.380th30.436th

choices, from CFBD play-by-play; a choice repeats within a season, a result mostly does not Rank 1 = highest rate / fastest among FBS.

CIN offence

CIN offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.36327011 of 138
success rate0.49627027 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.30527035 of 138
rush: points added per play0.3612704 of 138
rush: success rate0.49727026 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.2242708 of 138
pass: points added per play0.38527034 of 138
pass: success rate0.50927026 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.432270105 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.56027017 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.33827053 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.67727011 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.13227026 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.83327022 of 138
points per trip inside the 405.2002708 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.10727020 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.09627088 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.0112702 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)69.20027095 of 138

ISU offence

ISU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.11724187 of 138
success rate0.382241119 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.33424125 of 138
rush: points added per play0.10524176 of 138
rush: success rate0.387241114 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.19124110 of 138
pass: points added per play0.20524178 of 138
pass: success rate0.40224196 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.54624170 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.421241127 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.29924186 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.99324190 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19024192 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.583241122 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.63624129 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.170241109 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.08324157 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.087241133 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)71.10024160 of 138

CIN defence

CIN defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.10227088 of 138
success rate0.41527087 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.20527060 of 138
rush: points added per play0.113270102 of 138
rush: success rate0.482270129 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.82827033 of 138
pass: points added per play0.22027093 of 138
pass: success rate0.37827051 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.56527075 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.46227080 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.318270105 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.217270115 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.17927044 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.66727045 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.947270108 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.16327074 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.10727084 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.05627054 of 138
opponent average starting field position75.500270126 of 138

ISU defence

ISU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.03824335 of 138
success rate0.37024351 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.09324325 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.08224331 of 138
rush: success rate0.37424349 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.86424344 of 138
pass: points added per play0.06924352 of 138
pass: success rate0.36224334 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.43924341 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.46724385 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.1582431 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.57624340 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19824375 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.70024359 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.0482436 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17724386 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.128243115 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04924338 of 138
opponent average starting field position69.80024332 of 138

points added per play: CFBD predicted points added (their EPA); positive helps the offence · success rate: share of plays that gain 50% of needed yards on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th · explosiveness: average points added on the plays that succeeded - big-play size · havoc: tackles for loss, forced fumbles, interceptions and breakups as a share of plays · rank: 1 = best among FBS teams in the direction that helps that side · fei: bcftoys.com FEI: opponent-adjusted possession efficiency, offence/defence/special teams, with FBS rank - theirs · fplus: bcftoys.com F+: FEI and SP+ combined, in standard deviations above average - theirs